GODOLPHIN broke back into the Royal Ascot spotlight as Rewilding hunted down the Australian giant So You Think in a captivating Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

With two easy victories in Ireland since his transfer to Aidan O’Brien, this was billed as the day of reckoning for So You Think and at the home bend he was poised to justify his position as the 4-11 favourite.

But in a scenario reminiscent of races a decade ago when Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin and the O’Brien-Coolmore team regularly staged head-to-head clashes through the likes of Fantastic Light and Galileo, there was to be a stunning conclusion.

Ryan Moore’s authoritative move past the pacemaker Jan Vermeer began to tell and Frankie Dettori was in full pursuit, gradually making up around three lengths in the last couple of furlongs and nudging a neck in front on the line.

“That was probably the best fight I’ve been in for a while – the two horses wanted to win and they are two great champions,” said Dettori, whose usual excitement at a big-race win seemed heightened, but will later have been tempered as the stewards ruled he had hit Rewilding 24 times inside the final two furlongs and banned him for nine days.

“My fellow has not had the credit and he showed what he’s made of.

“He showed what a fighter he is. I’ve only got three days here this year due to suspension and the Prince of Wales’s is one of the great races of the year. To win again is a thrill, and I’m overwhelmed.

“It was sheer joy to be in the race. They are two great teams (Ballydoyle and Godolphin) and we put our life and soul into the job and into the sport.

“So You Think didn’t go down without a fight and it was one of the epic Royal Ascot races we’ll remember for a long time.”

Dettori was already banned for the last two days of the Royal meeting after picking up a 10-day suspension in the Oaks, and this latest ban, for using his whip with excessive frequency, means he misses the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown on July 2 and the first day of Newmarket’s July meeting.

So You Think collected a slew of major races Down Under before being swicthed to O’Brien in Ireland.